I tend to avoid them myself. Pretty sure I've seen a load of them in a river at one point, polluting the water :mad:
Oh I see. I used to swim in the Thames all the time. I did travel but mostly to work and stuff. I'm quite confused now. I don't know if I'm abnormal, a chav or a traveller
Oh I see. I used to swim in the Thames all the time. I did travel but mostly to work and stuff. I'm quite confused now. I don't know if I'm abnormal, a chav or a traveller
Ohh the Thames is different, not like a quaint country stream. Umm I'll go with an abnormal chav
The depth is one of the biggest factors, along with the temperature. Once somebody goes under in a quarry, they're not coming back up, and specialist diving teams actually have to be brought in to retrieve the body.
It might seem absurd considering that people swim off beaches all the time, which would seem at face value to be a bigger risk, but quarries can often reach depths of 40ft or more. To swim in such depths off the coast you would have to swim a fair way out, which people rarely do.
And, naturally, quarries are not life-guarded. There is less communal activity to provide that added safety net and, given the depth and stillness of the water, it gets pretty cold which can obviously affect people's ability in the water.
Let's just put it this way, there's a reason why swimming in quarries is discouraged.
I'm not sure why we keep hearing of people drowning in quarries? what is it about them that makes them particularly dangerous or more so than lakes etc?
The stupid people who go swimming and diving into them, ignoring warning notices, that's the main problem. I suspect that they have a similar genetic makeup as people who dive off piers without checking how deep the water is at low tide.
I wouldn't swim in anything so I am safe from a Quarry death hopefully.
I don't particularly like swimming at all and don't get the fascination with it - never have, just odd I guess.
I learnt to swim about 30 years ago and have pretty much never been back, never once ever enjoyed it and was pretty much forced into going with school.
At a push I will dip my toes in the sea but as for swimming - no thanks!
I have never understood why the depth of the water is an issue. You only use the top bit to swim in so what does it matter?
The main issue I can see is that deep water makes rescue (and failing that, recovery), more difficult. As you say, the mere fact that water is deep doesn't make staying on the surface any more difficult. And if it's deep enough that you can't stand on the bottom with your head above the water, staying on the surface is what you need to do to avoid drowning.
Deep water does have the ability to stay colder for longer, so that may be a factor. If people can't control their breathing, they can quickly get into trouble. I've done safety cover (in a kayak) for open water swimmers in a triathlon, and had to persuade a competitor to abandon the race within minutes of the start for this reason.
I personally doubt that entanglement or mysterious water currents (in a quarry?) played a role in these drownings.
If people are wondering why people drown when there are lots of other people around, the answer is that drowning doesn't look like drowning. The classic TV depiction of someone in trouble is of aquatic distress, not someone about to drown...
I have never understood why the depth of the water is an issue. You only use the top bit to swim in so what does it matter?
I can appreciate the dangers of the temperature, vegetation, crap in the water - all that is fine. But why is the depth a problem?
Very deep water is MUCH colder than shallow water, especially in a quarry which generally has steeper sides, so the sunlight can't warm the water for as many hours of the day. Very cold water can send the body into shock and cause breathing difficulties. Because there's no shallow shelf either and the water can suddenly go from a foot deep to 40 ft, the temperature difference is a very sudden change, increasing the shock to the body.
Comments
Rivers are a different kettle of fish.
Hmm the sort of place travellers might cool down?
I don't know, are they? I'm not really that familiar with the traveller scene at the moment.
I tend to avoid them myself. Pretty sure I've seen a load of them in a river at one point, polluting the water :mad:
Oh I see. I used to swim in the Thames all the time. I did travel but mostly to work and stuff. I'm quite confused now. I don't know if I'm abnormal, a chav or a traveller
it kinda has chavvy connotations to it, don't know why....not saying i agree but my mind does wander to chavvy tattooed types when i hear of this.
Ohh the Thames is different, not like a quaint country stream. Umm I'll go with an abnormal chav
I shall alter my passport to reflect this fact. I've also cancelled my account at Fortnums.
They often also have flamin' deep sides - no shallow end and hard to get out of.
Dodgy.
I'm no Health and Safety expert, but jumping into a quarry without checking it
is replete with water is a folly of catastrophic proportionality.
It might seem absurd considering that people swim off beaches all the time, which would seem at face value to be a bigger risk, but quarries can often reach depths of 40ft or more. To swim in such depths off the coast you would have to swim a fair way out, which people rarely do.
And, naturally, quarries are not life-guarded. There is less communal activity to provide that added safety net and, given the depth and stillness of the water, it gets pretty cold which can obviously affect people's ability in the water.
Let's just put it this way, there's a reason why swimming in quarries is discouraged.
Definite guff
The stupid people who go swimming and diving into them, ignoring warning notices, that's the main problem. I suspect that they have a similar genetic makeup as people who dive off piers without checking how deep the water is at low tide.
I can appreciate the dangers of the temperature, vegetation, crap in the water - all that is fine. But why is the depth a problem?
I don't particularly like swimming at all and don't get the fascination with it - never have, just odd I guess.
I learnt to swim about 30 years ago and have pretty much never been back, never once ever enjoyed it and was pretty much forced into going with school.
At a push I will dip my toes in the sea but as for swimming - no thanks!
Beg to differ kids know the dangers, I did from primary school.
Deep water does have the ability to stay colder for longer, so that may be a factor. If people can't control their breathing, they can quickly get into trouble. I've done safety cover (in a kayak) for open water swimmers in a triathlon, and had to persuade a competitor to abandon the race within minutes of the start for this reason.
I personally doubt that entanglement or mysterious water currents (in a quarry?) played a role in these drownings.
If people are wondering why people drown when there are lots of other people around, the answer is that drowning doesn't look like drowning. The classic TV depiction of someone in trouble is of aquatic distress, not someone about to drown...
Very deep water is MUCH colder than shallow water, especially in a quarry which generally has steeper sides, so the sunlight can't warm the water for as many hours of the day. Very cold water can send the body into shock and cause breathing difficulties. Because there's no shallow shelf either and the water can suddenly go from a foot deep to 40 ft, the temperature difference is a very sudden change, increasing the shock to the body.
And chavs.